1991–92 Chicago Bulls season

The 1991–92 Chicago Bulls season was the 26th season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Bulls entered the regular season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the 1991 NBA Finals, and winning their first ever NBA championship in franchise history. The 1991–92 Bulls team are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time. Early into the regular season, the Bulls traded Dennis Hopson to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Bob Hansen after the first two games.^[2][3]

Coming off their first ever championship, the Bulls got off to a 1–2 start to the regular season, but then posted a 14-game winning streak between November and December afterwards.^[4] The team later on posted a 13-game winning streak in January, which led them to a 37–5 start to the season,^[5] and held a 39–9 record at the All-Star break.^[6] The Bulls posted an eight-game winning streak in March, and finished in first place in the Central Division with a league-best 67–15 record, earning the first seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.^[7]

Michael Jordan captured his sixth straight scoring title, averaging 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and for the third time.^[8][9][10] In addition, Scottie Pippen averaged 21.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Horace Grant provided the team with 14.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and B.J. Armstrong contributed 9.9 points and 3.2 assists per game off the bench. Meanwhile, Bill Cartwright provided with 8.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, John Paxson and Stacey King both contributed 7.0 points per game each, and Will Perdue averaged 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.^[11] Jordan and Pippen were also both named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Jordan and Pippen were both selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coach Phil Jackson was selected to coach the Eastern Conference.^[12][13][14] Meanwhile, three-point specialist Craig Hodges won the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third consecutive year.^[15][13][16] Pippen also finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and Jordan and Pippen both finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[17][18] while Jackson finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[19][18]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Bulls faced off against the 8th–seeded Miami Heat, a team that featured Glen Rice, Rony Seikaly and Grant Long. The Bulls won the first two games over the Heat at home at the Chicago Stadium, before winning Game 3 on the road, 119–114 at the Miami Arena, in which Jordan scored 56 points as the Bulls won the series in a three-game sweep.^[20][21][22]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the team faced off against the 4th–seeded New York Knicks, who were led by All-Star center Patrick Ewing, Xavier McDaniel, and sixth man John Starks, and were also coached by Pat Riley. The Bulls lost Game 1 to the Knicks at the Chicago Stadium, 94–89,^[23][24] but managed to win the next two games, then take a 3–2 series lead, before losing Game 6 to the Knicks on the road, 100–86 at Madison Square Garden.^[25][26] With the series tied at 3–3, the Bulls won Game 7 over the Knicks at the Chicago Stadium, 110–81 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[27][28][29]

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls then faced off against the 3rd–seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Brad Daugherty, All-Star guard Mark Price, and Larry Nance. After winning Game 1 at the Chicago Stadium, 103–89, the Bulls suffered a 26-point home loss to the Cavaliers in Game 2, 107–81.^[30][31] With the series tied at 2–2, the Bulls won the next two games, including a Game 6 road win over the Cavaliers, 99–94 at the Coliseum at Richfield to win the series in six games, and advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.^[32][33][34]

In the 1992 NBA Finals, the Bulls faced off against the top–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, a team that featured All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, All-Star guard Terry Porter, and Jerome Kersey. The Bulls won Game 1 over the Trail Blazers at home, 122–89 at the Chicago Stadium, but then lost Game 2 at home in overtime, 115–104. With the series tied at 2–2, the Bulls won Game 5 over the Trail Blazers on the road, 119–106 at the Memorial Coliseum, and then won Game 6 at the Chicago Stadium, 97–93 to win the series in six games, winning their second consecutive NBA championship, as Jordan was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.^[35][36][37]

The Bulls finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 759,980 at the Chicago Stadium during the regular season.^[11][38] Following the season, Hodges and Hansen were both released to free agency.^[39]